Tours

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About

We love people, Chicago, and beer. Chicago Beer Experience was started in early 2011 as a direct result of the Great Recession. Christopher “Bruce” White had been laid off from his corporate job. He took a part time as a tour guide for Chicago Food Planet Food Tours and soon realized he had a found a new calling. In replacing food with something he liked even more…beer…boom! a company was born.

Bruce learned that one of the best ways to discover Chicago is by combining the stories that created it – history – with beer. By adding in the most important ingredient: people, including tourists, tour guides, staff from the places we visit, and others in the neighborhoods, we’ve created an experience that several people can enjoy.

Now, with the addition of awesome, friendly, knowledgeable guides like Phil, Glenn, Emma, Vince, Anna, Lee, Arielle, and Katelynn, we are really proud and excited to share this city with you. Not only do we enjoy beer and the story of Chicago, but we love people. We hope that you’ll join us to share in our passion. We’ll have a lot of fun, too!

Cheers and we hope to see you,

Bruce and the Chicago Beer Experience Family

Team

Anna Behm

Tour Guide

Hi, my name is Anna and love leading beer tours! I am a Chicagoland native, and while I have lived on the east coast, in the UK, and even in Canada, to me there’s no place like Chicago. I’m so excited to be able to show off the city and share beer with our tourists!

I’ve been leading tours with Chicago Beer Experience since 2016. I love telling stories about my home city and exploring the intersection of beer and history. But my favorite thing is seeing how beer can bring people from all over the world together.

In addition to leading tours I am a professional librarian, a marathon runner, a pizza enthusiast, and an avid traveler. I love visiting new places and sampling local beers wherever I go. A few of my favorite Chicago breweries are Half Acre, Revolution, 5 Rabbit, and Hopewell.

Cheers!

Lee Brophy

Tour Guide

Lee is a Stand-Up Comedian, Actor, Voice Actor, and Zoologist. He’s originally from Ireland and has lived in Chicago for over ten years. So he’s very much qualified for this job. His hobbies include aerial silks, dancing at home, and looking at online dog shelters to find his new best friend. Now this feels like a dating profile.

He has been with Chicago Beer Experience since 2016 and is currently on a mission to get more 5 star reviews on Trip Advisor than Glenn who currently holds 63% of said reviews, but we don’t need to talk about him anymore. Lee actually likes craft beer but also enjoys watching other people get incoherently drunk as they attempt to absorb almost 200 years of beer related history.

You’re probably interested in where to catch Lee performing in Chicago. I can tell you to follow his instagram (@lee_brophy; https://www.instagram.com/lee_brophy/) and you can see him on weekends at The Comedy Bar, The Comedy Clubhouse, The Annoyance, the list goes on so instagram is easier. If you read all of this you can challenge Lee to a staring contest on the tour.

Vince Kacick

Tour Guide

Hi, my name is Vince! I’ve been a certified public accountant, a certified personal trainer, and now a certified beer server (yes, it’s a real thing!). Be sure to ask me which one I had the most fun studying for! Just don’t ask me any tax questions, and I won’t make you do any burpees… deal?

I joined Chicago Beer Experience in 2016, and I’m excited to return for another fun season. People on our tours are awesome, and it’s my pleasure sharing the best beers in the area and a little history from my hometown of Chicago with everyone. My favorite part of the job is watching how beer brings people together on our tours.

When not guiding people through hops and history, I’m usually planning my next adventure outside of Chicago (I love a good hike or new destination), out supporting our live music venues, or doing extensive research at our local breweries and taprooms. Let’s raise a glass together soon and share our favorites!

Arielle

Leverett

Hi! I'm Ari. I’m an actor and a TIPS certified bartender, and I'm super excited to be a Chicago Beer Experience newbie.

I love history and I love beer, so the combination of the two is pretty fantastic. I hope you’re ready to watch me geek out about Chicago and beer history. I love this stuff and my favorite part of this tour is sharing this cool stuff with awesome people like you!

I'm from Michigan so I have to give a shout out to my local beers, Bell’s, Founders, and Shorts. But it's been a great experience exploring all the brews Chicago has to offer (Off Color is stealing my heart).

When I’m not touring I’m probably acting in a play, doing some indoor rock climbing, or working with medical students as a Standardized Patient. See you soon, I can't wait to share some beers and laughs with you. Cheers you guys!

Katelynn

McBride

Hi, my name is Katelynn! When I am not leading beer tours, I am a career counselor at a Chicago area law school (I used to be a constitutional attorney). I moved to Chicago without ever having visited before to attend law school and it almost instantly felt like home.

I joined Chicago Beer Experience in 2017 and I am thrilled to share my favorite city in the world and the coolest drink in the world with awesome people.

My favorite beer style is definitely sour beer and my favorite sours are La Folie from New Belgium, La Roja from Jolly Pumpkin, Surly Five, and anything from Cantillon Brewing in Belgium. No matter what anyone says, Three Floyds is a Chicago brewery and Paddy Longs has the best bacon in the city.

Beyond my love of Chicago and beer, I train at Chicago Strength & Conditioning as a powerlifter in the 75kg/165lb weight class, which basically means that I don’t do cardio, love socializing, and like being useful . I am originally from Colorado and thus a diehard Denver Broncos fan, I love stand-up comedy (Bill Burr, Louis CK, and Dave Chappelle are my favorites), and I become immediately addicted to just about every Netflix original series.

Emma Meyer

Tour Guide

Emma Meyer, heir to the Meyer Lemon fortune (not true), former pro-bocce champion (also not true) and lifelong Cubs fan (actually true) has been with CBE since 2015 (verifiable fact.)

While not leading tours around Lincoln Park, Emma spends her free time trying to read more than four pages of a book without picking up her phone, walking around town passionately yelling at people that ride their bikes on the sidewalk, and re-watching Parks and Recreation for the 900th time instead of viewing something new on Netflix like normal people.

Emma lived in New Zealand, Italy, India, Ireland, Ghana, and New York City before finding herself at home in Chicago. That's how much she likes this place.

By the end of your tour with her, she hopes you love it that much too.

Glenn Schneider

Tour Guide

Greetings,

My name is Glenn. A little about my present projects: I am a part-time English and Literature Professor with the City Colleges of Chicago in addition to this awesome job as a Beer Tour Guide. Also, my good buddy and I are starting a non-profit this year that leads overnight bicycle camping adventures to educate and immerse people in our local history and nature!

Before I joined the Chicago Beer Experience in 2015, I spent 3+ years traveling the U.S., Central, and South America. Mostly just wandering around with lots of camping as well as working some odd jobs from commercial salmon fisherman in Alaska to English teacher in Colombia. After all that exploring, I can confidently say that Chicago is the best city on the planet. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, so I am a bit biased.

As you will see during the tour, I have the best job in the world! I get to meet interesting new people, drink delicious local craft beer, and talk about this city I love so dearly! Holy smokes! Life is so hard.

This tour is a genuinely one of a kind experience. I really look forward to drinking a beer with you while we explore Chicago!

Phil Torre

Tour Guide

Hi! My name is Phil and I have worn many "hats" through the years in the food service industry at top, internationally recognized restaurants, both in Chicago and New York. However, my "real" career is in the music biz! I am a professional classical singer and when I'm not off singing someplace in the world, I can be found here in the great city of Chicago teaching at my private voice studio and, of course, leading beer tours! (Side note: Please don't ask me to sing before, during or after your tour--I will politely decline.) I am a self-proclaimed foodie and enjoy dining out, but am really in my element cooking gourmet meals at home. (I also enjoy long walks on the beach, but that's for a different bio...)

My love and intrigue for craft beer, history, and connecting with people have me returning to the Chicago Beer Experience family for my 5th year. I truly believe that I may have just as much fun leading tours as we hope our guests have participating in them! I look forward to seeing you on your tour and exploring the world of craft beer and the rich history of Chicago with you! Cheers!

Chris "Bruce" White

Founder & President

Hello! My name is Bruce, and here’s a little bit about me: I founded Chicago Beer Experience in 2011 after being laid off from a corporate job. I wear many hats for my small company, but my FAVORITE thing to do is leading tours and meeting great people. Beer brings people together, and it’s a lot of fun!

While I originally hail from Michigan, I’ve lived in Chicago for almost 10 years, and absolutely love it. Other passions include the lakefront and boating, travelling, and puppies, puppies, puppies.

Chicago is turning into a hot spot for beer and breweries, and I hope you get a chance to explore! My personal favorite beers include but are not limited to: Anti-Hero, Apex Predator, Daisy Cutter, and Juice Pants. My favorite local breweries include but are not limited to: Burnt City, Vice District, Dovetail, Maplewood, and Revolution. Cheers!

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